Chiba Battles Surge of 70,000 Boars and Cause 15 Billion Yen in Annual Agricultural Damage
“The damage caused by wild animals intruding into residential areas and attacking people or eating crops shows no signs of decreasing. The annual agricultural damage exceeds 15 billion yen, indicating a serious situation,” says a reporter from a national newspaper’s social department.
While bears were causing a stir in urban areas across the country at the end of last year, the intrusion of wild animals into human habitats is not limited to bears.
“Although the attention is on Chiba’s wild boar problem, the classic crop raiders are deer, wild boars, and monkeys. Even Tokyo is not exempt, with wild boars from the Tama Hills area being spotted in the streets of cities like Kokubunji and Tachikawa.
A few years ago, a wild boar about 1 meter in length appeared in the riverside of Adachi Ward and swam across the river to escape to Kitasenju. When animals venture into human habitats, they become natural enemies to farmers as they devour crops and fruits. The damage is most severe in Hokkaido, followed by Kyushu and Kanto,” the reporter continues.
While incidents of wild animal intrusion are on the rise, the aging population of hunters nationwide means that capture efforts are struggling to keep up. Therefore, municipalities are beginning initiatives to train new hunters. One such initiative is the Pest Animal Capture Cooperation Team launched by Chiba Prefecture. Last fall, 30 men and women were selected and received practical training. We closely followed their capture efforts in January and February.
The capture box was empty, however–
“The small, round droppings near the capture box are indeed the droppings of the kyon,”
The male instructor explained. On this day, three female members, all inexperienced paper hunters despite having obtained hunting licenses, participated in the capture event held in the mountains of Kimitsu City.
Although the contents of the capture box, baited with Aoki leaves favored by deer, were found empty, nearby footprints and droppings indicated the kyon’s presence.
“From the footprints, it’s evident that the kyon has approached near the capture box. Due to their small size, kyons can easily hide in residential gardens and consume flowers. Winter kyons are active even during the day, so there’s a chance we might encounter one today,” the instructor added.
Several hundred meters away, a larger capture box was placed. Inside, rice bran was scattered, and there were traces suggesting that an animal, likely a wild boar, had consumed the bran. Unlike deer and kyons, wild boars tend to meander around while sniffing, making their footprints harder to identify on the ground.
